4 Key Takeaways | Trade Secret Update 2024 Legal Developments and Trends
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in dismissing a trademark infringement matter under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, ruled that a district court “erroneously assumed the veracity” of the defendants’...more
On July 30, 2024, the Court of Appeals of Virginia overturned a two billion dollar (yes, billion with a ‘b’) jury verdict in the Appian v. Pegasystems trade secret lawsuit. Although the Court of Appeals upheld the verdict of...more
The U.S. District Court for the North District of California dismissed four of six claims in a pair of cases alleging that the use by OpenAI, Inc. of the plaintiffs’ books infringed the copyrights in those books. Tremblay v....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of an unjust enrichment claim, finding that unjust enrichment claims do not necessarily rise or fall with trade secret misappropriation...more
In Riseandshine Corporation v PepsiCo Inc (SDNY-1-21-cv-06324), plaintiff Riseandshine Corporation, doing business as Rise Brewing, brought three federal and two state claims relating to trademark infringement and unfair...more
Meta Platforms (parent company of Facebook) and OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT) have individually filed a Motion to Dismiss the class-action lawsuit filed by comedian Sarah Silverman and authors Richard Kadrey and Christopher...more
The New York Knicks just sued their former employee and his new employer, the Toronto Raptors, in a case that can teach employers a lot about trade secret misappropriation. The August 21 lawsuit accuses their Eastern...more
The Lanham Act- Lewis v. Acuity Real Estate Services, 6th Cir. 22-1406- In this appeal, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision dismissing the complaint under the Lanham Act because such a...more
Sometimes, the best place to determine whether a work qualifies as art is in a courtroom. In a recent decision, Judge John H. Chun of the District Court for the Western District of Washington found that a driving simulator...more
At first blush, the recent lawsuit filed by a toy inventor against toy and game company, Hasbro, would seem to have little to do with the advertising industry. In fact, however, the decision by the Southern District of New...more
Trade Secret Case Unravels Unequal Fashion Partnership - Small designer Mrinalini accuses fashion giant Valentino of spying, stealing and worse. The Royal She - In high fashion, creative output is the whole game -...more
A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois has ruled that a lawsuit against a doctor taking advantage of having the same first and last name as another physician to abet criminal drug distribution may proceed in...more
Does My Video Game Violate Consumers’ Privacy Rights? The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is the first broad-based state statute aimed at enhancing personal privacy rights for consumers. Following the example set by...more
In a recent decision from the Second Circuit, Judges Parker, Chin, and Carney side-stepped a novel question: whether human skin can be the kind of "tangible medium of expression" required for copyright protection. Instead,...more
Snowboarding Company Accused of Slapping Biggie Smalls’ Image on Merch - Rapper’s estate challenges with Lanham Act and right of publicity suit - Biggie Won’t Slip - It’s difficult to name a recording artist who has...more
In April 2016, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (known mononymously as “Beyoncé”) filed a trademark suit in the Southern District of New York against Feyonce, Inc., an online business that sells clothing, apparel, and assorted goods...more
In This Issue: - Dyson Appeals NAD Air Purity Rebuke - Court to Kanye Plaintiff: Imma Let You Finish - Are All Bets Off on Free-to-Play? - Instagram Celeb Alleges Link Theft! - Third Circuit Weighs In on Autodialer...more
Plaintiffs in New York state trade secret actions face a new limitation on their damages claims, according to a May 3, 2018 decision from the state’s Court of Appeals. ...more
A California federal jury recently decided that Emerson Electric Company owes prefabricated module manufacturer BladeRoom Group Limited $30 million in damages for stealing trade secrets to build a massive new data center. ...more
When a defendant avoids the cost of developing its own technology by stealing proprietary information, can that defendant be required to re-pay the cost it saved as compensatory damages? Not under New York trade secret or...more
In a meaty decision involving the intersection of restrictive covenant and franchise law, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently denied a request by D.P. Dough Franchising, LLC (“D.P....more
Jay-Z does not want to be in the spotlight- at least not the spotlight of a New York federal judge. This past April, the hip-hop tycoon and Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment company, were sued by Iconix Brand Group, Inc....more
On Wednesday, November 9, 2016 the estate of Marilyn Monroe filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York against Fashion Central. The Monroe Estate claims that Fashion Central infringes its intellectual property...more
Cat product service provider KitNipBox sued rival Meowbox in federal court in Washington alleging that Meowbox hacked into KitNipBox’s website to steal its trade secrets and confidential information and to disrupt its...more
A new putative consumer class action claiming damages in excess of $5,000,000 was filed earlier this month in the Northern District of California against Goya Foods, Inc. (“Goya”). The plaintiff, a purchaser of Goya octopus...more